Motivation Telecoms - No phone unearned

Article - In the ultra competitive mobile phones market, motivation programmes are becoming increasingly important to both retailers and the telecommunications companies who are seeking to boost their sales through third-party resellers.

Employees of mobile retailers are being incentivised from all directions – not only by their employers’ own internal rewards programmes but also by the motivation programmes of the mobile networks and handset manufacturers whose products they sell.

Andrew Cook, director of sales at incentives specialist Unmissable – which devises campaigns for a variety of mobile companies – says it is not surprising such activity has emerged. “It’s a very over-crowded marketplace and there are so many retail outlets today that mobile operators and manufacturers are looking to develop long-term associations with certain retailers,” he explains.

The view of Natasha Clynes, brand marketing manager for Siemens, is indicative of how important this mechanic has become for the manufacturers. “We recognise that the sales consultants within retail are absolutely vital to the success of any handset launch we have, “ she says. “They represent the Siemens brand and as such can directly influence the end users’ choice of handset or brand”.

Unmissable also seeks to devise incentives that work over a sustained period of time and on different levels because this helps to build brand loyalty with the resellers. “The challenge is to motivate employees in the short-term but sustain their interest over the long-term. So you can have a big prize at the end of a campaign but during its course you could give monthly prizes, “ Cook explains.

An essential part of any motivation is recognising exactly the people who are to be incentivised. Cook has worked with the likes of Orange, O2 and Sony Ericsson to develop their incentives for resellers such as Phones 4U and advises: “You need to identify the people you are trying to motivate so that you don’t alienate anybody in the organisation.

For the mobile sector these people tend to be predominately in sales roles. It is the nature of the industry that virtually all reseller campaigns “boil down to the selling of units by store managers and sales consultants, and it is this dynamic that underpins and drives most motivation programmes”, says Cook.

Since the mobile sector is “by far and away the most aggressive and innovative sector”, the rewards must mirror this, he adds. “You need to come up with something that they’ve not got access to, such as a walk on part in a movie or an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival.

With the Sony Ericsson ‘Are You Hitting the Peaks?’ campaign for reseller Phones 4U, Unmissable created a group incentive, which offered sales people who were consistently in the top 10 for the duration of the campaign the chance to fly to Lapland. The trip included snowmobile safaris, ice fishing, sledge rides with huskies and even dinner in an igloo.

With motivation programmes clearly in their relative infancy in the mobile sector compared with the automobile industry, there is a great amount of opportunity for the resellers, manufacturers and networks to use such tools to increasingly differentiate themselves from their competitors.

ENDS

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